Incline safety-catch.



- S. MORRIS.

INCLINE SAFETY CATCH.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 2, 1914.

1,109,693. Peeeeeee Sept. 8, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

S. MORRIS.

INCLINE SAFETY CATCH.

APPLICATION FILED MAYZ, 1914.

1,109,693. Patented Sept. 8, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

THE NORRIS PETERS ca. PHOTO'L'THOH WASHINGTON. u. c.

srnriinn Mortals or wEw'coMnR, rEmvsYLvANIA; I

incn nn. SAFETY-CATCH. t 1

incense.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented sepas, 1914.

Application filed May 2', 181%. Serial No. 835,950.

To all'wlmm itmay concern: .l'le it known that I, S'rnrH-ENhlonnIs, a citizen of ilrustria-Hungary, residing at Newcomer, in the county of Fayetteand State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain' new and useful Improvements in inclme Safety-(latches, of which the foll owin-g 1s a speclfication, reference be ng had to the accompanying drawings; a

This invention has for its primary object a simple, durable and eiiicient construction of mechanism for preventing the cars or tripsfroin running backward down an inclined-plane in the event of an accident to the hoisting power or its connections to the car, or in the event of the power being turned oil L'm vpectedly and before the brakes can be applied, or from any other defect in the couplings or other connections, orv the hoisting power itself. a

lVith this object in view, the invention consists in certain constructions, arrangements and combinations of the parts that I shall; hereinafter fully describe and claim.

F or a full understanding of the invention reference is to be hadto the following .de-

" scription and accompanying drawing, in

mcnts of my invention. view thereof, F 1g. 3 1s a transverse sectlonal view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. F 1g.

whichi Figure '1 is a side elevationof a'portio'n of an inclined track embodying the improve- Figj2 is a plan l is a section on the line r-4L of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view through one of the shafts showing the crankarm mount ed thereon, and Fig. Gis a detail section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2. c 1

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and designated in all of the views of the accompanying drawing by like reference characters.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the track rails of an inclined road bed, and 2 designates the-cross ties thereof. In carrying out my invention, I

provide a number of transversely extending shafts 3, the number varying according to the length of the incline and its pitch and the shafts being located any predetermined distances apart, according to the particular requirements of the case. In the present intance, the shafts 3 are journaled near their ends in pairs of brackets 4-, which are bolted or otherwise secured upon opposite sides of the track rails 1 and which depend therefrom as clearly illustratedin the drawing. One end" of each shaft is provided witha' counter-weight arm 5, and between the track rails 1, each shaft carriesany desired num= ber of trip arms 6, there being two arms for each shaft the present instance, although it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to that or any other number of said arms. The arms project perpendicu 'larly from the shafts 3 andin one position are held by gravity, through the instrumentality of the counter-weight arms 5 in a position perpendicular to the track rails and againstabutment blocks 7 which are carried and project upwardly from the adjoin-- 111g cross ties 2. 'From as much of the description as has preceded, in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be understood that as 21 car moves upwardly on the inclined track rails 1, its bottom will strike the trip arms 6 and pass over the pairsof arms in succession and that immediately after the car has passed one set of arms, such arms will move lmckwardly again into operative position above the track rails, whereby should anything happen to the equipment and should {the carstart lJOlllOVB backward down the in feline,; its movement will be eifectivelyob- 5 structed and prevented by the engagement with the upwardly projecting trip armsand accidents being thereby prevented.

In order to hold the arms .6 in an inops erative position down below the track rails,

"or at least suiliciently low 'toallow the car to move downwardly when required, the transverse shafts 3 are provided at their lends opposite the counter-weight arms 5 :with caink arms 8 which preferably project 5 upwardly, as shown, said arms being. open: atively connected togethe to, move simultaneously by being pivotally secured between, thelink bars 9. The link bars 9pass at one {end between two laterally spacedquadrant 0 bars 10 and preferably underneath and in engagement with, a roller 11, and said ends of the link bars are pivotally connected to a lever 12. Thus, it will be understood that when the lever 12 is swung in one direction 1 5 by the operator or attendant, at the side of the track, the trip arms 6 will be moved to a depressed and inoperative position so as to permit the cars to travel down the incline. Preferably, in order to hold the parts in inoperative position, the quadrant bars 10 are apertured, and a rod 12 passed through the apertures across from one quadrant bar to the other, and either through aregistering aperture in the lever 12, or, if desired, the lever may rest with its side edge against the rod 12.

In the practical use of this safety mechanism, as the cars ascend the incline, they will engage the pairs of trip arms 6 in succession and should the power give out or should anything else happen to it or to the connections between it and the cars, manifestly, the car will be prevented from moving down the incline by engagement with the upwardly projecting trip arms. -When it is desired to have the car pass down the incline, it is only necessary for the attendant to manipulate the lever 12 and to secure it in position to hold the trip arms inoperative.

It is to be particularly noted that the shaft 3 is formed with a segmental transversely extending recess 8 and that the boss or hub of the crank arm 8 is formed with a lug 8 working in said recess. Consequently,

each shaft 3, with its trip arms 6, is permitted to have a free movement and of limited length in one direction without disturbing the crank arms 8 and their connections, whereby each pair of trip arms may operate independently of all the others when the car is ascending the incline, while on the other hand, when the actuating lever 19. is manipulated, manifestly the engagement of the lugs 8 with the ends of the recesses 3, will cause the shafts 3 to turn and positively swing the trip arms to their inoperative positions.

While the accompanying' drawings illustrate what I believe to be the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but that various changes may be made in the construction, arrangements and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed, is:

1. The combination with an inclined track includingcross ties and track rails, of pairs of brackets secured on opposite sides of the track rails and depending therefrom, shafts journaled near their ends in said brackets and extending transversely of the track rails underneath the latter, trip arms secured to said shafts between the track rails and pro- Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing j ecting perpendicularly from the shafts, the cross ties being provided with abutment blocks against which the trip arms are adapted to rest, counter-weight arms secured to the shafts at one end thereof and at one side of the track, crank arms secured to the other ends of the shafts and on the other side of the track,link bars pivotally connected to the crank arms, quadrant bars located on the said side of the track as the link bars, a lever mounted to move between said quadrant bars and pivotally connected intermediate of its ends to one end of the link bars and a pin adapted to extend across from one quadrant bar to the other tohold the lever and the other parts in an inoperative position.

2. The combination with an inclined track, including track rails, of shafts extending transversely underneath the track rails, means for supporting said shafts, trip arms secured on said shafts, intermediate of the rails, counter-weight arms connected to the shaft at one end of the latter and tending to move the shafts in one direction, means for stopping this movement of the shafts with the trip arms projected above the'track rails, cranks mounted on the other ends of said shafts, means for moving said cranks, and a lost motion connection between said cranks and shafts, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination with an inclined track, including track rails, of shafts extending transversely underneath the track rails, means for supporting said shafts, trip arms secured on said shafts, intermediateof therails, counter-weight arms connected to the shaft at one end of the latter and tending to move the shafts in one direction, means for stopping this movement of the shafts with the trip arms projected above the track rails, cranks mounted on the other ends of said shafts, means for moving'said cranks, the shafts being formed with transverse recesses, and the crank arms being provided with lugs movable in said recesses, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses. STEPHEN MORRIS. Witnesses:

E. A. GREENE D. R. HAYDEN.

the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). 0. 

